Winter is about to settle in with cold weather. However, this fall has been generous with its mild weather. Hopefully, you have ensured that your beehives are well provisioned with honey for the winter and you have prepared your hives to survive the cold. Before Christmas and the holiday season come around, I thought I would update you with a few things happening with the ECWBA.
1. This past year, 2012, went rather well. Thank-you to everybody that was involved in making the past year a success. We had some good guest speakers at our meetings speaking on various topics. We completed a beginner’s beekeeping class early in the year. Let’s keep the momentum of education going.
2. Some of the meeting dates and places for early 2013 have been scheduled in already. Here’s what developed so far:
Saturday, January 12, 2013, Ripon Public Library, 9:30 to 11:00 am.
Saturday, February 9, 2013, Fond du Lac Public Library, 9:30 to 11:00 am.
Saturday, March 9, 2013, tentative pending scheduling, Ripon Public Library, 9:30 to 11:00 am.
May and/or June, 2013 (another field day???)
July and September meetings to be determined.
3. At the January, 2013, meeting, the offices of vice-president and treasurer will be up for election. The positions are currently held by Denise Palkovich as Vice President and George Weigel as Treasurer. Both, Denise and George, have done a great job as ECWBA officers for their past two year terms. Here’s an opportunity to become directly involved with the ECWBA. Please consider running for either of these offices -- a little “electoral competition” would be great to see. If you have any questions about the election or about becoming an officer, please contact Jeff Champeau by phone or e-mail.
4. At the July and September meetings, the ECWBA established a committee for exploring the possibility of conducting a beginning beekeepers class. This is not a permanent committee – once the class is done, the committee will be terminated. The committee is tentatively moving forward with a class scheduled to start in early 2013. More information will be published in the newsletter as the class develops. Please encourage any new beekeepers that you know to attend this class. Watch for ads in local shopper newspapers.
Beekeeping Notes:
Start planning for 2013 – Winter is a good time to relax with a warm cup of hot chocolate and think about next year’s beekeeping. Is this the year to attend an advanced beekeeping seminar? Or maybe a workshop to learn about queen rearing? If you have some experience, this could be the year to mentor a new beekeeper.
On behalf of the East Central Wisconsin Beekeepers Association, I would like wish all of you, your families and friends, a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!